camping lighting

[Anonymous No.117167]

Hey guys. I go camping every year for two weeks in august. Last year, inside the tent lighting was a big problem. Battery operated lanterns are just not cutting it. I saw another group with awesome LED lighting in their tent (we have big canvas tents, it's a ren nerd camping thing) Anyway, I want to set up some kind of awesome lighting that will outdo any of the other nerds at our site. I have access to 12 volt deep cycle marine batteries from my work, I was thinking of using some of these to power the lighting, but I'd really like to have some awesome dimmable LEDs in the tent. help me please. I know I'm going to need a switch and a dimmer of some sort, but beyond that, I'm pretty ignorant. What kind of LEDs should I get and are they expensive? Do i need resistors or some such thing, I'm pretty bad with electronics, but I'm good at following instructions. This lighting thing would have to last for the whole two weeks we're camping. And according to campsite rules, I'm not allowed to bring a generator... Suggestions? Remarks? Insults?

[Anonymous No.117177]

[Anonymous No.117188]

>>117177

how do I hook up a string of leds to a battery? do I need some sort of transformer? and what kind of leds are best for lighting a big area and not just the ceiling where they're hung like Xmas lights

[Anonymous No.117203]

If you can get your hands on 5 or 10 of these 72 LED bad boys, It'll be like the surface of the sun in your tent. Magnetic back to stick onto your tent poles, 4 AA batteries included (these will easily last you for two weeks) from Rolson tools, costs about $5 but you might have to get them online, I think its a UK company.

[Anonymous No.117219]

Some background:
LEDs are diodes, which means they only conduct (and illuminate) when current is applied in the correct direction. Unlike diodes used in other applications, LEDs are easily damaged by fairly low reverse voltages, so make sure they are installed the right way.

LEDs have a forward voltage (Vf) and a current rating (If). To make it turn on at full brightness, you must supply the current specified with a voltage of at least the forward voltage. Note that this does not mean that the circuit voltage has to exactly match the LEDs forward voltage, only that the circuit voltage is high enough to tolerate a voltage drop of Vf across the LED, and any extra voltage beyond the Vf will be dissapated by the rest of the circuit.

For simple circuits and LEDs requiring low current, this is usually done by a resistor is added in series with the LED.

Typically, dimming LEDs is done via PWM instead of increasing the amount of resistance in a circuit. PWM is not only more efficient, but gives the greatest amount of brightness control since LEDs do not emit light in direct proportion with their power supply. They tend to term on very dimly (if at all) if underpowered, only reaching full brightness near the max rating.

[Anonymous No.117223]

>>117219
NOW with that in mind, if you just want to light the tent, I'd recommend buying an off the shelf portable light kit.

>I want to set up some kind of awesome lighting that will outdo any of the other nerds at our site.
Then prepare to do a fair bit of learning. If you just want brightness control, then you can set up a simple PWM circuit with a 555 and use the output to drive the base of a NPN (or N-channel) transistor. The transistor's collector/drain would be connected to the cathode of your LED circuit, and the emitter/source would be connected to the negative terminal of the battery. The positive terminal would be connected to the LEDs anode.

If you want something fancy (full control of different colors w/ color cycling, automatically dim w/ respect to time, auto shut-off with setable timer, change color with dim, etc) then a microcontroller would be the way to go.

As for what the battery requirements are, that depends directly on the amount of LEDs in the circuit. You can actually estimate the amount of time pretty accurately since you'll know the exact power consumption of the LEDs, and any additional consumption for the microcontroller or PWM control is so little that it can usually be disregarded.

[Anonymous No.117253]

>>117219
>Typically, dimming LEDs is done via PWM instead of increasing the amount of resistance in a circuit. PWM is not only more efficient, but gives the greatest amount of brightness control since LEDs do not emit light in direct proportion with their power supply. They tend to term on very dimly (if at all) if underpowered, only reaching full brightness near the max rating.

I fuck around with leds a lot, and I dim them with a variable voltage regulator, and also the right current limiting resistor. The leds I use say max 25 mA, but I never run them more than 10 mA each because they're practically just as bright at that level.

[Anonymous No.117530]

I was really hoping for a simple DC circuit. like 12v battery + (wire) 12v switch/dimmer (wire) string o' LED's (wire) back to battery -terminal. would something like that work or would I end up blowing my tent up or burning it down? PS I'm a dumbass, and I love reading this board. You all are really smart. Have a pic of my ex's butt for your efforts kind sirs.

[Anonymous No.117553]

>>117530
>I was really hoping for a simple DC circuit...
You can do what you described, too. It can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. You can buy off the shelf 12v LED dimmers and 12v LED light bars or strips. They even have ruggederized, waterproof ones.

I think it is a question of what you want and how much you want to spend in terms of time and money. Sometimes you can save by getting the components and making it yourself, or if you need something special then you have to make it yourself.

Whatever you do, take the time out to shop around, because sometimes I see fairly simple devices I could make for high prices, and other times I see super cheap things that would fit the task.

Speaking of cheap, I just got in some of those Vollong 3W LEDs. They were suspiciously cheap at $3 each, but I figured, at that price, if they even turned on I'd be impressed. As it turns out, they are quite bright. We'll see how long they last.

[Anonymous No.117630]

>>117167
12V battery + 12V inverter + EL panels.

[Anonymous No.117724]

build a bunch of joule thiefs or one like this one that'll power a cfl bulb.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAakZTR_4LE&feature=related